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Well that crept up on us. That’s the noughties done and dusted. As we start a new decade, we think back to what has happened over the last 10 years and as every decade passes you realise how much has actually changed.We started the decade with Gordon Brown as Prime Minister who was replaced by David Cameron later in 2010, with a little help from Nick Clegg. Teresa followed and now we have Boris but we still haven’t left the EU. January 2010 was the coldest January in 30 years (we hadn’t had the Beast from the East yet) and in April millions were stranded in the ash cloud. Including me, I was stuck in a lovely hotel......

The theme for this year’s BIM Show Live is ‘BIM for Good.’We don’t just make these things up, believe it or not, some thought goes into it.We were going to do something around the Digital Twin but we felt this was a little predictable for BIM Show Live. The thinking behind ‘BIM for Good’ was that for a long as I can remember, as a sector, we have been critical on ourselves and looked internally as to how we make ourselves better.We have focused on digitisation and transformation. Transformation: change in form, appearance, nature, or character.However, if we look at the innovation curve, I would argue that......

Towards the end of 2019, the Queen’s Speech identified recommendations made by the Hackitt report as a bill for the new parliament. Below is a little more detail as to what is planned. The proposals are largely aligned with the consultation and suggests a new regulatory body. There is also a particular focus on tenants.What are the key statements?- Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review found that that the currentregulatory system is not fit for purpose in relation to high-rise and complexbuildings. All 53 of Dame Judith’s recommendations will be taken forward. - &nb......

This week’s thoughts have been around COBie, which may not be considered the most exciting subject and not something I would normally have an opinion on - but bear with me.I know I’m stepping into dangerous territory as there are many passionate about this area and know a lot more than I do. It also is an area which really gets people mobilized.My thoughts on all this BIM stuff is that anything we do has to start with ‘why?’ We need to understand the issues and talk to our clients about their issues. We must not fall into the trap of doing things just because they are ‘clever’ or ‘interesting.’T......

Back is the early 2000s we stumbled across parametric software when talking to our AutoCAD reseller, Imass. They showed us a new product called the Revit Series and the rest is history.At the time, we were known as Waring and Netts Partnership and employed a Systems Integration Manager. This was a new role for us with the remit to implement Revit and document management across the practice, long before the term BIM had ever been mentioned.Recently, I caught up with Clive Hunt who was that very Systems Integration Manager and we reminisced about a very different time. Clive moved to London and now has his own consultancy, Robitect.com.At the t......

Since Space was established over 60 years ago, we have brought many buildings back to life by creating new uses or enhancing their existing use.We refer to this as creative re-use. We have designed hotels, theatres, offices all within existing buildings with a growing number on the drawing board. All of these developments deliver far more than their functional requirements: providing additional social, economic and environmental value.For example, the recently completed Darlington Theatre regeneration encouraged additional activity in the town centre whilst the ongoing redevelopment of Stockton Theatre will also help the regeneration of Stock......

There is nothing we like more in construction than a report. One of the most significant documents of the last two decades was published in June and it seems to have passed us all by. However, this report is far more reaching than the 2011 BIM mandate and is easily as impactful as the 1994 CDM regulations. Any idea what the report is? Well, last month, the ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the Building a Safer Future consultation paper, which set out government plans to implement the reform of building regulatory safety system in advance of new legislation following the Hackitt report. The consulta......

Recently a colleague of mine asked me to take part in a “Procuring for Value” presentation. As it was a little while away I agreed to do it. I was to share the stage with Ann Bentley who sits on the board of the Construction Leadership Council and who leads the Procuring for Value stream. Clearly she would know her stuff on Value and there was a risk I would be exposed…As it got closer to the conference I thought I should have a look into the subject. This wasn’t an event where you could just dust off an old presentation.When I looked at the topic I realised how little I knew about value! Over the years I have he......

Over the past couple of weeks I have been talking to many software companies as part of the preparation for BIM Show Live 2019.What I have found is there is lots of innovation across the construction sector. Businesses are making big investments and taking risks to address the challenges and opportunities which are now apparent.Everywhere I turn there are new platforms, from start ups to established multi national businesses. My colleagues continue to find new software every week and blow me away with what can be achieved. The most powerful aspect is the pace and ease in which outputs can be delivered using cloud based platforms. All of......

I can’t believe it is six months since we were all trapped in the middle of the Beast from the East in Newcastle.Despite the weather BIM Show Live 2018 was another success and only a very few delegates were unable to make it. A few of our Scottish colleagues even stayed for an extra couple of days (not necessarily through choice!).We have started the planning for BIM Show Live 2019 and will once again return to the Boiler Shop, Newcastle on the Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th of February.This year during my state of the nation presentation I talked about the previous 12 months and that it had been one of the most challenging......

The report the industry will rememberConstruction is renowned for its reports. We have had Latham, Egan, Vision 2025 and more recently the Farmer report. These are all great reports with lots of great ideas for the future.We have seen some change in the industry over the years. New ways of working have come and gone, for example partnering, it was adopted for a few years and then fizzled out. The industry has seen incremental change, but more needs to be done to modernise the industry. More recently The Farmer report has built momentum with offsite manufacture to address the unprecedented skills gap that has developed over the years; res......

The Space Group story started some sixty years ago. This year, 2017, is the 60th anniversary of when the Waring and Netts Partnership was first established. In 2007 when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the company we changed our name to Space Group to reflect the diversity of the work in which we were involved.A few weeks ago we held a lunch for some of the partners who have been part of the business over the decades. Unfortunately, some are sadly no longer with us and others were too frail to attend, however, my early mentor and chairman Mike Douglas came along as did Richard Elphick.At nearly 70 Mike is still working with surveyo......

I have just had the delight of reading the Governments white paper “Fixing our broken housing market”. It is a very aesthetically-pleasing document and overall, it’s an easy read.That's the good news.The bad news is that we have heard it all before from previous governments. This document is Theresa May’s attempt to address the issue. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no innovation or significant developments in policy or funding without which, nothing is going to change. There is little mention of any significant financial commitment but there is a lot of information about the perceived problems within the sector......

I know that may seem like quite a strange statement from someone like me who has been one of the biggest advocates of BIM over the last 15 years.We have moved mountains with new technologies but it still isn't enough.When we started to talk about BIM to a wider audience around six years ago, we used a presentation slide which had the words “people, process and protocol”. Level 2 has helped to set a framework for the protocol and process. The part which still needs more investment is the people element.As a bit of an old timer my interest in BIM has not been in just technology for technology’s sake but about the impact, i......

In the mid-2000s, the design community from within the construction industry coined the term “Building Information Modelling” or BIM as we now know it. This was a catch-all for 3D design and embraced software such as Allplan, Architype and Revit.This all-encompassing brand term was incredibly powerful and helped to align people behind one single initiative. Initially, this was embraced purely by the design community but following the government mandating BIM for all centrally procured projects the wider industry began to consider how BIM could support their workflows.Eventually, the term BIM became too limiting for what was happen......

Since construction started its transition to digital, there has been a growing question; what can we achieve using the data we have collected and can this data transform how we work on a day-to-day basis.We all understand the importance of data and the need to have quality, consistent data throughout the life cycle of a built asset. But what if this data can be used in progressive technologies and reach beyond its current confines.Given that data is at the centre of Artificial Intelligence (AI), can we then argue that AI has a place in the construction industry.Several years ago most of us would have said this was not a realistic prospect, ho......